Bourbon Barrel Aged Coffee Review

T.S. Eliot said he measured out his life in coffee spoons. And here at the historic Whiskey/Barrel labs we are, admittedly, a bit caffeine addled. To be honest we were doing just fine before we knew that “Bourbon Barrel Aged Coffee” was a thing. It is, and it’s a good thing. The brain child of The Vintage Gentlemen shop out of St. Augustine, Florida, this is a very interesting cup of coffee that is miles away from anything that you are likely using to get the gears moving in the morning.

What caught our attention was the use of bourbon barrels in the storing of the unroasted Brazilian beans. By law, bourbon producers can only use those charred, white oak barrels once and still be called bourbon. Most of those used barrels are then sold to Scotch producers. (Incidentally, this has led to a vicious office debate as to whether that makes Scotch a secondary-product). So the Vintage Gentleman has partnered with folks at The Kookaburra Coffee to store the green coffee beans in these veteran bourbon barrels for a time. Reduce, reuse recycle, but more to the point, after the coffee is infused with those flavors we love from good bourbon, it is roasted in small batches.

While it doesn’t taste remotely like that famous New Orleans blend of coffee and chicory, it a cup that occupies the same neighborhood. It has a bold flavor to it, the word “rustic” springs to mind. That being said, one of our tasters who flat out doesn’t like chicory loved it.

It doesn’t taste like a flavored coffee, and it isn’t. Nor does it really taste like you’ve snuck a splash of whiskey in your coffee. There is just an air too it, pleasant woody traces of the same vapor that surrounds you if you’ve ever been to a bourbon rickhouse. The air mingles with the coffee to produce those hints of English toffee and chocolate.

It comes whole bean, so we ran it through the grinder for a course chop and used a French press. That works beautifully. Although there is no reason why it wouldn't work in a run of the mill coffee maker.

Coffee is supposed to get the gears moving in the morning, this one goes a step further and starts you wondering what you'll drink tonight.